Zidarich Vitovska Venezia-Giulia Bianco 2020

Grape: Malvasia
Vintage: 2020
Type: Orange

Running through all of Zidarich's wines is a driving, dancing, powerful yet balletic minerality-an essence of pure stone. Even in wines made from more assertive, aromatic varieties like Malvasia and Sauvignon, it is the limestone that takes center stage. They combine invigorating liveliness and profound, contemplative mineral heft like few other wines on Earth, capturing both the gleaming sunshine of his high-altitude vineyards and the cool depth of his cellar.

Aged for 2 years in large Slavonian casks, the Vitovska is a seamless, deeply stony wine. Its fruit character veers toward apricot and peach, yet in a subtle way—the limestone is doing the heavy lifting here, with the Vitovska serving as a mere vessel for the unfettered expression of rock. The wine finishes clean and long, with a sensation of almost mentholated coolness ringing on the palate long after swallowing. Whatever subtle tannins are present are melded beautifully with the palate-staining minerality, and the overall impression is one of freshness, complexity, and drive. A bold, uplifting, utterly delicious wine.